Everyone ordained as a deacon, priest or bishop in the Episcopal Church has knelt before the ordaining bishop and, as hands are laid upon the ordinand’s head, these words have been sung, usually responsively by the ordaining bishop and the others who are present: Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire. Thou the anointing Spirit art, who dost thy seven-fold gifts impart. The number of hands the ordinand feels on his head varies: for a deacon, it is just the hands of the ordaining bishop; for a priest, the ordaining bishop is joined by all other priests and bishops present in the laying on of hands, and for a bishop, all other bishops present place their hands as well on the…
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